Former Diablo community manager Nevalistis opened up about her experience working at Blizzard Entertainment. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) vs Activision Blizzard lawsuit reported by Bloomberg isn’t exclusively about sexual harassment, but there are other complex situations that affect women employed at Blizzard and in the gaming industry as a whole.
Nevalistis wasn’t specifically subject to sexual harassment, but there were practices by male employees with higher positions than her that made her life filled with hardships. To the point that she kept her associate title for 6 years without a promotion to a higher position and pay; where other males who were new to the job were promoted ahead of her.
Several streamers have been sharing with their Youtube / Twitch audience the DI Team shipped a Diablo Immortal box with goodies:
Diablo Immortal Hoodie
Diablo Immortal themed external battery
mobile power cord (90 degrees)
Personalized card written and signed by Wyatt Cheng
Among those who got this gift are ECHOgaming, Scrappy Academy’s Captain Nemo, Lexyu, and Domino Jack. Let me know if you have seen other streamers get one.
Diablo Immortal closed alpha begins today in China. There is no way for people outside of China to play this test, so please don’t install anything from people who claims otherwise. VPN and emulation won’t work because it is invite only for those who pre-registered locally in China.
Diablo Immortal is not optimized or supported in emulators until launch or until further notice by Blizzard Entertainment.
For those who live in China and pre-registered, you will get an email from NetEase with a code to redeem access to Diablo Immortal closed alpha.
iOS DEVICES
Install the TestFlight app from the Apple App Store.
The official Diablo Immortal (China) website posted a list of mobile devices supported in the July 15 closed alpha test. This is not the final supported devices list.
This is a very optimistic glimpse at what Blizzard is doing behind-the-scenes to optimize the game in an effort to support as many mobile devices as possible. As of the USA closed alpha (April 24-June 30) the minimum requirement for Android devices was the 2019’s Snapdragon 710.
This updated list shared by China today goes as far down to the 2017’s Snapdragon 625; 2014’s Snapdragon 801 with Adreno 330; the 2014’s Snapdragon 400; and even adds support for a few 2015-2017 Mediatek and Intel chips.
This list gives hope to thousands or millions of mobile users who haven’t upgraded in a long time. But remember, this is not final. More devices will be added by the time the game launches (some time within the second half of 2021 postponed until first half of 2022).
I posted below the translated table of supported devices. However, I researched each one and added the CPU and GPU model to give us a perspective of how far down this new update went to in the minimum requirements rabbit hole.
The official Diablo Immortal (CN) website announced alpha testing will begin on July 15 at 10am. Those who pre-registered in the Chinese website will be invited by email to participate via Android or iOS (TestFlight). At the end of the test, all characters and data will be deleted.
PCGamesN interviewed Diablo IV art director John Mueller to discuss the game’s art direction. Mueller reveals the team drew inspiration from renaissance and medieval paintings exhibited at the Louvre museum.
Diablo’s eternal war between angels and demons – with humanity suffering somewhere in the middle – is heavily inspired by Renaissance and medieval paintings, as well as works from the Romantic era like Théodore Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa. These artistic periods feature a mix of dark fantasy and realism that’s central to Diablo IV’s visual identity, and in a recent quarterly update the team behind Diablo IV shared some of the techniques they’re using to realise that art style.
Blizzard Entertainment published the Diablo IV Quarterly Update focusing on Character and Monster Art. This blog shares insight by Game Director Luis Barriga, Art Director John Mueller, Associate Art Director for Characters Nick Chilano, and Lead Character Artist Arnaud Kotelnikoff as they reveal new assets and dive into how the team is approaching the visuals of character classes and the grisly monsters that roam Sanctuary.
Diablo IV will let players customize their characters to an extent that was not possible before in a Diablo game, allowing everyone to create a completely unique character but still staying true to core class fantasy. And of course, Diablo IV is focusing on the return to darkness with the development team making sure monsters are gruesome and horrifying while not losing the trademark hand-crafted art style Blizzard games are known for.
The team also dives into how modern technologies, such as PBR (physically based rendering) and the use of in-game engine cutscenes achieves a new level of graphic fidelity and storytelling for Diablo. The blog features a large number of still images and animated fragments showcasing some of the new enemies that players will come across in Diablo IV including the Blood Bishop, Skeleton Lord, Succubus, and other horrific creatures.
Diablo Immortal is closer to release than ever with closed alpha’s ongoing test (56 days so far) transitioning soon to its next phase. Many are waiting until the final system requirements are revealed to find out whether their device can play the game.
However, other players might have been planning to either buy their first phone soon; or upgrade to more advanced one.
Here are some of the top Flagship Android 11 and iPhone devices in 2021 (under $1000). When it comes to Diablo Immortal, you want a device that has longevity (supported for many years), and powerful to handle its Ultra graphics setting and High FPS enabled. Some of these choices might be more attractive than others. Especially the 120Hz display. Diablo Immortal won’t have support for 120Hz at launch, but Wyatt Cheng said maybe later.
Once a Shadows’ Dark House wins the Rite of Exile and dethrones the Immortals, the Dark House is no longer of the Shadows faction — becoming the new Immortals.
As each member of the Immortals complete Daily Goals and other activities, they can contribute Raw Essentia (earned by completing those activities).
